Board of Public Works Approves $1.6 Million in Grants for Clean Water and the Chesapeake Bay
Grants Will Reduce Nutrient and Sediment Pollution

BALTIMORE, MD (February 8, 2012) - The Maryland Board of Public Works approved more than $1.6 million in grants today to reduce pollution and improve water quality by upgrading septic systems and restoring a stream. The Board is composed of Governor Martin O’Malley, Treasurer Nancy K. Kopp and Comptroller Peter Franchot.

“Projects such as these are an important part of our effort to protect and restore Maryland waterways, including the Chesapeake Bay,” said Governor O’Malley. “These projects reduce pollution and protect public health while creating jobs for more Marylanders.”

The following projects were approved today in the following locations:

Upgrade Septic Systems – Statewide

Grants from the Bay Restoration Fund totaling $1.52 million will provide funding for counties to upgrade on-site sewage disposal (septic) systems to significantly reduce the discharge of nitrogen, the most serious pollutant in the Chesapeake Bay. Counties will focus on upgrading septic systems located within the Critical Area. A typical septic system that does not remove nitrogen delivers about 23 pounds of nitrogen per year to the groundwater. An upgraded, nitrogen-removing septic system cuts a system’s nitrogen load in half. Caroline, Dorchester, Frederick, Howard, Kent, Somerset, Washington and Worcester counties will benefit from the grants.

North Cypress Branch Stream Restoration – Anne Arundel County

A $171,345 grant from the Chesapeake Bay Water Quality Project Funds, Small Creeks and Estuaries Restoration Program will fund the design and construction to restore approximately 3,000 linear feet of severely eroded stream channel. Invasive plant species will be removed and replaced with native wetland plantings. Small barriers will be constructed to slow the stream flow and help to create approximately 6.2-acres of wetlands that will improve the water quality and reduce sediment and pollutant loads to North Cypress Branch, Cypress Creek, and the Magothy River, tributaries of the Chesapeake Bay.